TXT

Language is beautiful. The Sophists believed language moves through us; that we are instruments of language. Imagine what this suggests about our poetry, lyrics and most profound literary pieces! It’s a beautiful notion that we are mere instruments of common intelligence; supplying voice to thought.

So, what does it mean today that we truncate our communication at every opportunity? Our arguments are mere commonplaces shouted between podiums; our social networking sites provide limited space for our discussions; our text messaging services provide a ready-made numbered list of messages to send; and most interesting to me, texting truncates words altogether!

OMG, TXT ME! Like argument, we have bastardized our language. In argument, this has resulted in grave divisions between parties and people. What does it mean when we do the same with language? Rather than diverse meaning, we over-simplify, and appear to be reverting to an earlier form of communication: Short syllabic grunts – just Cavemen with blackberries and iPhones.